Wrapped Jewelry Assembly

ABSTRACT

A wrapped jewelry assembly, which may be worn as a bracelet or necklace having removable elements enabling personalization is provided. The accessory may include a length of fabric, polymer, or metallic cord, at least one replaceable charm formed as a disk having a decorative face, and a clasp configured to aesthetically link any ends of the cord. A plurality of channels are disposed parallel to one another along a backside of the charm to threadably receive portions of the cord in order to maintain such cord in a wrapped configuration. Resilient rubber or polymer stoppers are disposed within each channel or alternatively placed to flank such channels to prevent the charm or charms from freely sliding along the cord.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACT

Not applicable.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT RE. FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARK NOTICES

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document may contain materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. This patent document may showand/or describe matter which is or may become trade dress of the owner.The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by any one of the patent document or the patent disclosure,as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files orrecords, but otherwise reserves all copyrights and trade dress rightswhatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed subject matter relates generally to accessories and, moreparticularly, to personalizable bracelet and necklace assemblies havinginterchangeable features that enable securely wrapping portions of theassembly around a neck or wrist.

BACKGROUND

Some jewelry and accessories having interchangeable charms and otherbaubles are known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,882 toJohnson et al. teaches a personalizable pendant configured to verticallyreceive decorative beads which may be attached to ear hooks, clips,bracelets, necklaces or pins. As another example, U.S. Pat. No.4,305,262 to Ferrara teaches an item of jewelry having a mounting baseto support slideably mountable and interchangeable gems or stones andmetals commonly associated with fine jewelry. Problems, however, persistamong such jewelry. Many of those available on the market, inparticular, are configured in a manner either requires specialinstruments such as pliers to interchange personalizable parts orotherwise fails to prevent such parts from freely sliding along thelength or chain that defines the circumference of the accessory. Thiscan be uncomfortable for the wearer experiencing shifting baubles,unsightly in the event that such baubles move to an unaestheticposition, and even noisy and distracting as baubles interfere with oneanother.

One attempt to solve this problem is U.S. Pat. No. 8,225,625 to Heidenet al., which describes a chain configured to support interchangeabletime-pieces such as a watch face. In order to prevent slippage, athreaded element is incorporated into a chain, and a desirable timepiece may be configured to threadably mate with such element. Thishowever, is deficient as it limits placement of the timepiece to aparticular portion of the chain. Though additional threaded elements maybe provided along the chain, such elements if unoccupied by a bauble ortimepiece may undesirably interferes with the aesthetic of the chain.

Thus, there is a need for an improved personalizable jewelry assembly.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to wearable accessories and moreparticularly to jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces with replaceableelements particularly comprising a single chain or cord that is wrappedto appear layered.

For purposes of summarizing, certain aspects, advantages, and novelfeatures have been described. It is to be understood that not all suchadvantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particularembodiment. Thus, the disclosed subject matter may be embodied orcarried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage orgroup of advantages without achieving all advantages as may be taught orsuggested.

In accordance with one embodiment, a wrapped jewelry assembly comprisesan elongated cord, a replaceable charm operative to secure the cord in awrapped, or layered, arrangement, means for securing the replaceablecharm in a particular position along the cord, and a clasp configured tolink any ends of the elongated cord. For the sake of brevity, thewrapped jewelry assembly will be referred to collectively as thebracelet, though it should be understood that the assembly may takeother forms.

To achieve this securely wrapped configuration, the replaceable charmmay define a disk having a front decorative side and a back side, withat least a first channel and a second channel disposed parallel alongthe back side to threadably receive portions of the cord. In particular,a first end of the cord may be received through the first channel, then,the first end of the cord may be received through the second channel inthe same direction as it was received through the first. In such anembodiment, the channels comprising the charm maintain the threaded cordin a looped, or layered, configuration, which halves the circumferenceof the bracelet and prevents the cord from undesirably unlooping itself.Additional channels may be disposed along the back side of the charm toenable additional secured looping and layering, and the threading actionmay be repeated to loop the cord for as many channels as may beprovided. It is contemplated that longer cords may or may not benecessitated by the desire to effect additional layering. Indeed it iscontemplated that providing a longer cord and/or additional channels mayenable wrapping the cord more times to create a denser layered look. Oneskilled in the art, however, will recognize that the invention will notbe limited by the length of cord provided. Indeed, it should be apparentthat different lengths are widely known and practiced for bracelets andnecklaces alike.

In an embodiment, the cord may comprise fabric, such as leather or wovennatural and synthetic fibers, polymer materials, or even linked metals.In order to further maintain such cord threaded through first and secondchannels in the charm in a looped configuration, a first and secondstopper member, at least, may be provided to frictionally preventslippage. In one embodiment, for example, a first and second elastico-ring, may threadably receive portions of the cord and particularlyplaced thereon to flank the first and second channels, elasticallysqueezing the cord on either side of the charm, and preventing the charmfrom freely sliding over such cord. In another embodiment, a stoppermember may be respectively disposed within each of the channels tofrictionally prevent slippage therein. It is contemplated that one, all,or any combination of the channels disposed on the backside of the charmmay have a stopper member disposed therein.

In some embodiments, the charm may be formed as a disk, wherein thefront side comprises a decorative face, including for example only andnot limitation, an aesthetic arrangement of glass crystals orrhinestones, gems, and even stamped characters or other designs. Inother embodiments, the charm may take other shapes. For instance, thecharm may be formed as any polygonal shape, such as a hexagon or square,or even as any other shape having rounded or pointed sides, includingcombinations of the same. It is contemplated that forming the charm inaccordance with any of these embodiments may operate to obscure anyflanking stopper members from view, which may preserve the aestheticintegrity of the wrapped jewelry assembly when worn. This may also beachieved, for example, by providing a hemispherical charm, wherein arounded portion may define the face and a flat portion may define theback side. Of course, one skilled in the art will recognize thatdisposing each stopper member within a respective channel also serves toobscure such stopper members from view.

Any charms, whether formed as a disk or not, are slidably replaceableover the length of the cord. Indeed, it is even contemplated that thecord may be threadably received by a plurality of successive charms, asdesired, effecting increased opportunity for personalization. Providingstopper members for each charm along the cord may ensure that the charmsare prevented from uncomfortably or even unaesthetically interferingwith one another.

One or more of the above-disclosed embodiments, in addition to certainalternatives, are provided in further detail below with reference to theattached figures. The disclosed subject matter is not, however, limitedto any particular embodiment disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the accessoryassembly.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a close-up view of a clasp comprising theaccessory assembly.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a close-up view of a charm comprising theaccessory assembly flanked by opposing stoppers in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a close-up view of a charm comprising theaccessory assembly having integrated stoppers in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

The disclosed embodiments may be better understood by referring to thefigures in the attached drawings, as provided below. The attachedfigures are provided as non-limiting examples for providing an enablingdescription of the method and system claimed. Attention is called to thefact, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typicalembodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered aslimiting of its scope. One skilled in the art will understand that theinvention may be practiced without some of the details included in orderto provide a thorough enabling description of such embodiments.Well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of theembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Having summarized various aspects of the present disclosure, referencewill now be made in detail to that which is illustrated in the drawings.While the disclosure will be described in connection with thesedrawings, there is no intent to limit it to the embodiment orembodiments disclosed herein. Rather, the intent is to cover allalternatives, modifications and equivalents included within the spiritand scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

With reference to FIG. 1 the wrapped jewelry assembly, or “bracelet” forthe sake of brevity, may comprise an elongated cord 10 having a firstand second end 12, 14, a clasp 20 operative to join such first andsecond ends 12, 14, a charm 30, and a plurality of stopper members 40 a,40 b, configured to prevent the charm from sliding over the length ofthe cord. As may be seen in the figure, the charm 30 is particularlyconfigured to maintain the cord 10 in a looped or wrapped configuration,causing the bracelet to appear layered, though only a single cord 10 isprovided.

In accordance with one embodiment, the cord 10 may comprise any materialas may be desired for its appearance, comfort, durability and otherfactors. For instance, the cord 10 may comprise decorative metal linkscomprising, for example only and not limitation, sterling silver,various grades of steel, gold, rose gold, various metal alloys and anyother metal available for such purpose. Alternatively, the cord 10 maycomprise natural or synthetic woven fibers, leather, and even polymermaterials, including combinations of the same. Thus, one skilled in theart will recognize that the wrapped jewelry assembly will not be limitedby particular materials comprising elements of such assembly.

Once the bracelet is securely wrapped as in the illustration, (aparticular method for achieving this is discussed below), the first andsecond ends 12, 14 may be removably yet securably linked within a clasp.A detailed view of one embodiment of the clasp 20 is provided forexample in FIGS. 2A and 2B. More particularly, it is contemplated thatsuch clasp 20 may be formed to aesthetically complement additionalelements comprising the assembly. Thus, when engaged, the clasp 20 mayappear as another charm or bead secured to the cord 10. To achieve this,the clasp 20 may comprise a first concave half 22 a hingedly connectedto a second, opposing concave half 22 b. Each half 22 a, 22 b may bereleasably securable to the other to define a hollow interior 23. Forinstance, in the figures it may be seen that a tab 26 may be disposed onthe bottom half 22 b to resiliently secure such bottom half 22 b a grip28 disposed on the top half 22 a, though of course other methods ofsecurement are possible.

Each half 22 a, 22 b may be even further formed to securably retain aportion of one each of the first and second ends 12, 14 within thehollow interior 23. In one embodiment for instance, the first and secondends 12, 14 each define a cylinder terminating in a cone 24 a, 24 b. Adepression 25 may be disposed each cylinder and may be grippable by theclasp, so as to maintain the cone 24 a, 24 b within the hollow interior23 and a portion of the cylinder outside of the hollow interior 24. Thebroad base of each cone, then, prevents each end from slipping out ofhollow interior 23. In other words, any furthest portion of the firstand second ends 12, 14 may be cross-sectionally larger than an innerportion of the ends 12, 14 such that each furthest portion may besecurely maintained within the clasp when the clasp 20 is engaged.

The gripping action may be enabled by defining a first and secondaperture 27 a, 27 as a notch, groove, or other opening, in a portion ofone or both of first and second halves 22 a, 22 b of the clasp 20.

In some embodiments, one end, such as the second end 14 b may bepermanently secured by one half, such as the upper half 22 a, of theclasp 20. This may be achieved, for example, by providing an aperture 27b defining a continuous circle. This may ensure that loss of the clasp20 when such clasp 20 is disengaged may be avoided.

It may be seen that any outer surface defining each of the first andsecond halves 22 a, 22 b are depicted as generally smooth in appearance,however, it is contemplated that any aesthetic property of the clasp maybe enhanced by embellishing one or both of such surfaces.

One embodiment of a charm 10 and stopper 40 combination provided toenable the aforementioned securely wrapped bracelet configuration isshown with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

The replaceable charm 30 may define a disk having a front side 32 and aback side 34, with at least a first channel 36 a and a second channel 36b disposed parallel to one another along the back side 34 to threadablyreceive portions of the cord 10. It should be noted that although drawnas a disk in the figures, the replaceable charm 30 may take anydesirable shape, such as any polygonal shape, or even a shape having ofrounded, or even a combination of pointed and smooth, edges. The disk isprovided therefore, as a non-limiting example of one particular formthat the replaceable charm 30 may take.

An end of the cord 10 may be received through the first channel 36 a,then, such end may be received through the second channel 36 b in thesame direction as it was received through the first. In such anembodiment, the channels 36 a, 36 b comprising the charm 30 maintain thethreaded cord 10 in a looped, or layered, configuration as shown in FIG.1, which halves the circumference of the bracelet and prevents the cordfrom undesirably unlooping itself. Additional channels may be disposedalong the back side of the charm to enable additional secured loopingand layering, and the threading action may be repeated to loop the cordfor as many channels as may be provided.

Referring again to FIGS. 3A and 3B, to increase security of the charm 30and looped configuration, the cord 10 may be sequentially threadedthrough a plurality of elastic stopper members 40 so that that cord 10and charm 30 are frictionally prevented from freely moving relative toone another. In one embodiment, for example, the stopper members 40 maycomprise a first and second elastic o-ring, pictured, which maythreadably receive portions of the cord and particularly placed thereonto flank the first and second channels 36 a, 36 b, elastically squeezingthe cord 10, and preventing the charm 30 from freely sliding over suchcord. In some embodiments, however, it is contemplated that the elasticnature of the stopper members 40 may permit forcible adjustment of charm30 over the threaded cord 10. Thus, it should be apparent that it willnot be necessary to completely immobilize the charm 30 in order tosecure it along the looped cord 10.

Another embodiment of a charm 10 and stopper 40 combination is shownwith reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. In such embodiment, a stopper member40 may be respectively disposed within each of the channels 36 a, 36 bto frictionally prevent slippage of the cord 10 therein. It iscontemplated that one, all, or any combination of the channels disposedon the backside of the charm 30, as the case may be, may have a stoppermember 40 disposed therein.

In some embodiments, the charm 30 may be formed as a disk, wherein thefront side 32 comprises a decorative face, which may be better seen inFIG. 1. Such face may include for example only and not limitation, anaesthetic arrangement of glass crystals or rhinestones, gems, and evenstamped characters or other designs. In some embodiments, forming thecharm 30 as a disk operates to obscure any flanking stopper members fromview, which may preserve the aesthetic integrity of the wrapped jewelryassembly when worn. This may also be achieved, for example, by providinga hemispherical charm, wherein a rounded portion may define the face anda flat portion may define the back side. Of course, one skilled in theart will recognize that disposing each stopper member within arespective channel also serves to obscure such stopper members fromview.

Any charms, whether formed as a disk or not, are slidably replaceableover the length of the cord. Indeed, it is even contemplated that thecord may be threadably received by a plurality of successive charms, asdesired, effecting increased opportunity for personalization. Providingstopper members for each charm along the cord may ensure that the charmsare prevented from uncomfortably or even unaesthetically interferingwith one another.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merelyexamples of possible implementations. Many variations and modificationsmay be made to the above-described embodiments without departing fromthe principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications andvariations are intended to be included herein within the scope of thisdisclosure and protected by the following claims.

Moreover, embodiments and limitations disclosed herein are not dedicatedto the public under the doctrine of dedication if the embodiments and/orlimitations: (1) are not expressly claimed in the claims; and (2) are orare potentially equivalents of express elements and/or limitations inthe claims under the doctrine of equivalents.

CONCLUSIONS, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

While certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed, various modifications are contemplated and can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, the length of the cord and colors, shape and arrangement of theclasp, charm and various aesthetic portions of the invention may varyaccording to taste, market demand, and personal sizing needs.Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited, except asby the appended claim(s).

The teachings disclosed herein may be applied to other systems, and maynot necessarily be limited to any described herein. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments. All of the above patents and applicationsand other references, including any that may be listed in accompanyingfiling papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of theinvention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems,functions and concepts of the various references described above toprovide yet further embodiments of the invention.

Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing refined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the wrapped jewelry assembly with which thatterminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the followingclaims should not be constructed to limit the wrapped jewelry assemblyto the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification unless theabove description section explicitly define such terms. Accordingly, theactual scope encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but alsoall equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosed assemblyand apparatus. The above description of embodiments of the wrappedjewelry assembly is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to theprecise form disclosed above or to a particular field of usage.

While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the assembly andapparatus are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible for which those skilled in therelevant art will recognize.

While certain aspects of the method and system disclosed are presentedbelow in particular claim forms, various aspects of the apparatus arecontemplated in any number of claim forms. Thus, the inventor reservesthe right to add additional claims after filing the application topursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the wrappedjewelry assembly.

1. A wearable accessory, comprising: a flexible cord having acircumference, wherein the cord comprises at least one first portion, atleast one second portion, a first end, a second end, a first endterminal portion element having a circumference, and a second endterminal portion element having a circumference; at least one firstring-shaped stopper member configured to encircle at least one firstportion of the cord and at least one second portion of the cord, whereinthe at least one first stopper member is configured to prevent the atleast one first portion of the cord from moving laterally away from theat least one second portion of the cord; a charm having a front side anda back side, a plurality of channels disposed parallel to one anotheralong the back side of the charm, wherein each channel is sized toreceive one portion of the cord therethrough; and a clasp having a firstconcave half hingedly connected to a second opposing concave half, eachhalf releasably securable to the other to define a hollow interior, andeach half further formed to securably retain the terminal portionelements of the first and second ends within the hollow interior wheneach half of the clasp is secured to the other.
 2. The wearableaccessory of claim 1, further comprising at least one second ring-shapedstopper member, wherein the at least one first stopper member and the atleast one second stopper member are able to move freely with respect toeach other.
 3. The wearable accessory of claim 2, wherein the at leastone first stopper member and the at least one second stopper member aredisposed within separate channels disposed on the back side of thecharm.
 4. The wearable accessory of claim 1, wherein the front side ofthe charm comprises an aesthetic design disposed thereon, the aestheticdesign comprising an arrangement of any of crystal glass and polymers.5. The wearable accessory of claim 1, wherein one of the first andsecond ends of the cord are inseparable from one of the first and secondconcave halves of the clasp when such each half is released from theother.
 6. The wearable accessory of claim 1, wherein the first endterminal portion element circumference and the second end terminalportion element circumference are each larger than the circumference ofthe cord.
 7. The wearable accessory of claim 6, wherein the first endterminal portion element and the second end terminal portion elementeach comprise a cylinder terminating in a cone.
 8. A jewelry assembly,comprising: a length of flexible cord having a first portion, a secondportion, a first end and a second end; at least one ring-shaped firststopper member operative to encircle at least the first portion of thecord and the second portion of the cord, wherein the at least one firststopper member is configured to prevent the first portion of the cordfrom moving laterally away from the second portion of the cord; areplaceable charm, comprising: an embellished front side; and a backside, at least a first and second channel disposed parallel to oneanother on the surface of the back side, wherein each channel is sizedto receive a portion of the length of flexible cord; and a claspoperative to link the first and second ends of the length of flexiblecord.
 9. The jewelry assembly of claim 8, further comprising at leastone ring-shaped second stopper member operative to encircle at least thefirst portion of the cord and the second portion of the cord, whereinthe at least one second stopper member is configured to prevent thefirst portion of the cord from moving laterally away from the secondportion of the cord, and wherein the at least one first stopper memberand the at least one second stopper member are configured to moveindependently of each other.
 10. The jewelry assembly of claim 9,wherein the first and second stopper members are disposed withinseparate channels disposed on the back side of the replaceable charm.11. The jewelry assembly of claim 8, wherein the clasp comprises a firstconcave half hingedly connected to a second opposing concave half, eachhalf releasably securable to the other to define a hollow interior, andeach half further formed to securably retain a portion of one each ofthe first and second ends within the hollow interior.
 12. A charm forpersonalizable jewelry, comprising: a flat front side defining a facefor displaying decorative elements; a flat back side; at least a firstand second channel disposed parallel to one another on the back side,wherein the first and second channels are configured to receive at leastone cord; and a ring-shaped elastic stopper member disposed within eachof the channels, wherein each ring-shaped elastic stopper is sized tocreate drag on the at least one cord; wherein the flat front side andback side are sized to obscure the channels and elastic stoppers fromview when the charm is viewed from the front side.